I noticed adverts for a 5.3% bond from the UK’s Royal Bank of Scotland in some old newspapers while catching up today.
After doing some research, I’ve established that the so-called ‘Royal Bond’ began trading at the start of September 2009, with a lifespan of six years.
In summary:
It’s effectively a corporate bond, though the adverts were a little unclear. (Specifically, it’s a ‘redeemable certificate’). Don’t mistake it for a savings bond.
The 5.3% coupon is paid annually, on the 26th August.
Interest is paid gross.
The bond matures in August 2015 at par. It cannot be called by RBS.
You can buy it via your online broker – the ticker is RBS53.
It’s senior debt; RBS is rated A+ by Standard and Poors.
The bond was priced at launch at £100, but it’s already been bid up in price, reducing the yield.
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I have a confession to make. I’m feeling nostalgic for last year’s stock market mayhem.
I miss the bad old days — and I’m not the only one:
The financial media has been saturated with stories marking the one year anniversary of the demise of Lehman Brothers.
The BBC’s The Love of Money series culminated with the Bank of England’s Mervyn King admitting that two massive UK bank failures last year almost killed the UK financial system. The BBC also ran a TV drama called The Last Days of Lehman.
Bloomberg tried to repeat the trick yesterday by reminiscing about the 700-point, one-day drop in the Dow a year to the day.
Innumerable blogs run by gold bugs, conspiracy theorists and market cranks abound. They predict and desperately hope for a new crash to bring back the good (i.e. bad) times.
Of course, like school and hangovers, I realise it felt a lot worse at the time.
